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Folarin Balogun reveals the real reason why he left Arsenal.
Former Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun has acknowledged that he felt pressured into leaving the team this summer.
Balogun, 22, scored 22 goals while playing on loan for Stade Reims in France last season, sparking the curiosity of many top European clubs.
As a result of having to make a choice about his future, Arsenal finally decided to cash in on Balogun, agreeing to a contract to move him to Monaco for an initial fee of £26 million while still choosing to believe in Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah.
In an interview with ESPN, Balogun stated that despite Mikel Arteta’s desire to collaborate with him, officials at the Emirates eventually blocked their plans.
“[Arteta] didn’t really say much, he just said that – when I came back he just said well done, and he encouraged me to keep going,” Balogun explained. “Then me coming back in a pre-season, it was just more about me seeing whether I fit into his plans and seeing if I can continue to play some games.
“He said that he would try to get me involved as best as he could, but of course he also told me that the people higher up were making decisions on me and seeing what would be best for me. So the conversations between me and him were good, but it was more about the club, what they wanted to do.”
Although Inter and Chelsea had discussions earlier in the summer, Balogun finally moved for Monaco, where he has scored three goals in his first five games while also missing two penalty kicks.
“It [his future up in the air] wasn’t something that made me feel anxious, it was just more a case of seeing what wanted to be done,” Balogun said. “It was out of my hands, that’s how I felt. It wasn’t something I could control.
“The only thing I could do was just turn up to train and work hard. So I did that. And then after training, I enjoyed being back in London. I saw my friends, caught up with my family.”